City votes to cut ties with auditor

Friday

May 17, 2019 at 12:08 AMMay 17, 2019 at 10:02 AM

Despite a majority of commissioners agreeing to allow the city auditor to resign, they failed to pass a vote that would allow a separation agreement.

Gainesville commissioners said Thursday that they want to cut ties with its city auditor, following a controversial audit that found a host of issues at a predominantly black youth academy program run by city police.

Commissioners were split on their decision, but ultimately failed to agree to negotiate a separation agreement and resignation date, a decision first suggested by Auditor Carlos Holt. Following the vote, Mayor Lauren Poe abruptly ended the meeting.

“It was clear in the letter we got that (Holt is) interested in moving on from the city,” Poe said. “That is certainly your prerogative. In fact, I think there is some degree of honesty to do that. … I want charter officers that are here, that are fully committed.”

Holt has been with the city for four years and makes about $134,000 a year. He is one of six charter officers who reports directly to the commission. His departure would place uncertainty with several ongoing audits left in limbo.

Holt sat in the audience during the discussion and later refuted claims of having a conflict of interest.

Last month, Holt released an audit report on the Reichert House Youth Academy that found the 31-year-old program had a lack of standard business processes, a lack of transparency, poorly documented purchases and a lack of oversight, among other issues. Additional concerns were submitted to the city’s human resources department for review.

The report drew criticism from city officials, commissioners and members of the public with some claiming it was Holt’s retribution to Gainesville police and that it shared false information.

Others turned the topic into a race issue and said it tarnished the legacy of the program. At least two commissioners voted against accepting the report. Holt was also commended by some people for doing his job and finding issues that have long been ignored at Reichert House.

Interim City Manager Deborah Bowie, however, said the report was flawed and that Holt had a conflict of interest due to cops visiting Holt’s home 14 times since 2015, sometimes when he wasn’t home. Holt has denied having a conflict and has never been arrested or charged with any crime during those visits.

The Reichert House program is overseen by Police Chief Tony Jones and GPD. The program serves more than 120 at-risk youth annually and aims to assist predominantly black adolescents into adulthood through military-like structure and lessons. Holt has stated the report shouldn’t take away from the positive aspects of the program and that all the issues were fixable.

Anonymous envelopes with police reports about the incidents involving Holt were mailed around the city during his investigation on Reichert House.

Following the release of the Reichert House audit, the city hired an outside auditor to complete the second part of the report, which will dive deeper into financial issues, including finding how $41,000 went missing.

Holt, whose private life increasingly became a public conversation, in the following weeks hired a lawyer to consider filing a claim against the city for how he was treated. His attorney gave a letter to the city attorney two days ago, which was then given to commissioners, requesting his departure and hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the letter, he accuses former City Manager Anthony Lyons of being behind the mailers.

Commissioners each took turns apologizing to Holt for how his family and personal life were thrust into the public spotlight, some saying they felt he has done exceptional work. Commissioners Gail Johnson, Gigi Simmons and Helen Warren voted against terminating Holt and asked him to stay.

“I am so deeply, deeply sorry that your information, and very private information about your children and your personal life, was put out there in the way that it was,” Johnson said. “That is so unacceptable and I think a stain, really, on our community.”

Commissioner David Arreola, who first brought up the separation, changed his mind after Warren pleaded to have a one-on-one conversation with Holt before voting. Others, however, weren’t as accepting.